Catwoman is Arkham City’s other playable character

Selina Kyle will be more than eye candy in Batman: Arkham City. Rocksteady has confirmed that Catwoman will be a playable character in the sequel, and while the focus is still on squarely Bruce Wayne – Catwoman’s content will comprise about 10% of the total game – it nonetheless provides players with the opportunity to see Arkham City from a less altruistic perspective.

Getting into the details, Catwoman will take over for a few mandatory story moments but her appearances are mostly limited to side missions involving general thievery and cats. Stray felines located throughout the game world will trigger robbery quests and she has her own reasons for hanging around with a bunch of psychopaths in colorful costumes.

“She’s using the chaos of Arkham City in order to achieve her own ends, and what that means is establishing what she can steal, and how quickly she can get it,” Rocksteady Marketing Manager Dax Ginn told Destructoid.

The top prize is apparently a cache of “stolen stolen goods” that Hugo Strange has lifted from various Arkham City inmates. Catwoman will have to get past Strange’s private TYGER army in order to get her sticky paws on the loot and she’ll have a number of stealth tools at her disposal. Specifically, Selina can use her claws and whip to crawl along ceilings and walls (think Spider-man) and her movements are tied to a combo meter that allows for faster travel if you’re able to properly time acrobatic swings and leaps on the rooftops of the city.

Unfortunately, Catowoman is not nearly as resourceful as Bruce Wayne and carries only three gadgets instead of Batman’s twelve. She’s also without the benefit of a cape, so players won’t be able to glide when Catwoman is in control. However, she is a bit quicker than Batman and she has her own unique combat abilities and animations.

Catwoman also happens to have a one-track mind. Unlike Batman’s Detective Vision, Kyle’s Thief Vision only shows stuff worth stealing, and while it’s a reasonably useful compass, it won’t help you avoid guards unless they happen to be wearing Rolexes.

Catwoman will be playable in all versions of Batman: Arkham City when the game launches in October.